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Need help deciding who to vote for in the 2019 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund race? Help is on the way! TAFF News Redux #2 [PDF file] is available on the TAFF Website with the candidates’ answers to a questionnaire.

Find out what Teresa Cochran, Sarah Gulde , Michael Lowrey, Geri Sullivan had to say when they were asked these probative fannish questions —

1) Tell us something about yourself and fandom: where did it begin for you and when.

There will be no 2019 Down Under Fan Fund delegate DUFF administrators Paul Weimer and Marlee Jane Ward have announced.

The 2019 round would have sent a North American fan to Australasia. Since the 2020 Worldcon will be in New Zealand, they have decided all the advantages are with skipping 2019 and selecting a 2020 DUFF delegate to attend the Worldcon in Wellington, and other fannish events and meetings as possible in the spirit and mission of the Down Under Fan Fund.

Voters will choose an Australasian delegate to attend Dublin 2019 in Ireland (August 15-19). There is an option for the delegate to also attend the Eurocon (Titancon, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on August 22-25).

The candidates are Lynelle Howell, Simon Litten, and Nicole Murphy.

Ballots will be accepted until April 22. The candidates’ platforms, general information about voting, and the online ballot can be found here. A PDF ballot for printing is also available. Votes are not valid unless accompanied by a contribution of at least GBP6, EUR7, AUD10, NZD10, or an equivalent amount in other currencies.

GUFF, the Get Up-and-over Fan Fund or the Going Under Fan Fund, depending on which direction it’s running, GUFF exists to provide funds to enable well-known fans from Australasia and Europe to visit each other’s national (or other) conventions and get to know each other’s fandoms better.

The winner will take over the administration of the fund for the next northbound and southbound races.

Here are the candidates’ platforms:

Lynelle Howell (New Zealand)

Hi, my name is Lynelle Howell and I’m a fan. I’ve been actively involved in fandom for over 20 years at both local and national level. I’ve chaired two natcons, helped set up SFFANZ (the Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand). I have administered the Sir Julius Vogel Awards (SJVs) for more than 10 years. I’m currently the FFANZ (Fan Fund of Australia and New Zealand) administrator and am on the Executive for CoNZealand, the 78th worldcon in 2020.

I’m running for GUFF as I’m keen to attend more international conventions (including Eurocon and Dublin 2019) and meet new friends

I love conventions! Since joining the committee for Conflux 1 in 2002, I’ve sat on the committee for 9 out of 14 Confluxes (including chairing Conflux 4, co-chairing Conflux 9 and after a break, programming Conflux 14). Additionally, I’ve run a couple of online mini-cons and convened the Aurealis Awards twice. Today I’m employed as a professional conference organiser! I look forward to meeting amazing Dublin Worldcon and Belfast Titancon participants and, in particular, the opportunity of bringing my experience, creativity and Australian sense of humour to GUFF. We will most definitely have a ball!

The 2019 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund Race to send a North American fan to the Dublin Worldcon next August is now on! Voting runs from today, December 1, to April 22, 2019.

The candidates are Teresa Cochran, Sarah Gulde, Michael Lowrey, and Geri Sullivan. The ballot includes their platform statements. TAFF co-administrator John Purcell said, “I am happy to say that I know all four of these splendid candidates, and wish them all the best of luck and that this campaign/election/selection will be a lot of fun. Bon chance, mes amis!”

The online voting form is active at https://taff.org.uk/. A printable PDF file of the ballot with voting instructions also appears at the end of this post. Purcell is sending out paper copies with the next issue of his fanzine Askew in another week.

Reading has always been a solitary activity for me. I read SF for many years, and dreamed of meeting other fans. In the early 2000’s, I moved to Las Vegas and met many established fans. I began going to conventions. With the help of computer technology, it is much easier for me to write for fanzines. TAFF would give me an opportunity to meet fans and explore the social aspects of fandom. I could also publish a TAFF report in Braille! Don’t worry; it will be accessible to everyone.

‘Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations’. Why the Star Trek slogan? First, I’m a hardcore Trekkie and co-editor of the December 2018 Star Trek issue of Journey Planet. Second, I’m passionate about diversity in fandom. I’ve been on diversity panels across the country, and even started my own diversity-focused mini-con.

I’m running for TAFF because I’ve pushed for change in my local con to help everyone feel welcome while celebrating their fandoms, and as the TAFF delegate I want to provide support for other fans who are doing the same. Interested? Let’s grab a beer in Dublin and chat! LLAP!

My first convention (1975) was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have loved, married and parented within the tribe. I’ve been active: the N3F, Usenet, apas. I’ve pubbed my ish, and been officer of a local club.

I am a Fan, free citizen of the ImagiNation. Whatever else I may be – husband, daddy, union leader, Esperantist, wearer of orange garments, Quaker, feminist, Irishman, Mac user, Wobbly, Hordesman, Wikipedian – this is my Way of Life. My cunning plan? I want to come from a land beyond the wave, meet fans all over Over There, and quaff girder-based beverages.

Shortly after stumbling into fandom, I was found guilty of exhibiting enthusiastic energy and a propensity for getting things done. I’ve been hosting parties, publishing fanzines, running conventions, and organizing special projects ever since. Oobleck. Chocolate robots. Rocks, inflatable gargoyles, and remarkable bheer. You never know what I’ll bring, only that it all sparks connections….

If selected, I’ll share adventures from years knowing Walter & Madeleine Willis, James & Peggy White, and other legendary fans of yore while meeting new friends of all ages. Timebinding, you bet! Hope to see you on the Funway in Dublin and Belfast. She/her; fancyclopedia.org/geri-sullivan

The 2019 TAFF (Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund) Race is now officially open for nominations for the North America to Europe leg. Nominations will be taken until November 22, 2018.

Voting to select the TAFF delegate will commence on December 1, 2018 and continue until April 22, 2019. The winning delegate will attend the 77th World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin, Ireland (https://dublin2019.com/) from August 15 – 19, 2019, and assume the duties of the next North American administrator of TAFF upon returning home.

The TAFF administrators say:

If any North American fan is considering standing for the 2019 TAFF race, now is the time to line up your nominators and have them contact the administrators informing them of the nominators’ intentions.

Candidates will need three North American fans and two European fans known to the Administrators to nominate you: these people must contact the current Administrators by November 22, 2018 (American Thanksgiving Holiday), informing them of whom is being nominated. Potential delegates will also need to send an official statement of standing for TAFF to the administrators (contact information provided below) listing their nominators, plus a 101-word platform statement, and a $20 (USD) bond fee sent via PayPal to 2017taff2019@gmail.com.

More details about TAFF can be found at David Langford’s excellent website, taff.org.uk

If you are interested in standing for the 2019 TAFF Race or would like to nominate some deserving fan, please contact North American Administrator, John Purcell, at 2017taff2019 (at) gmail (dot) com or Johan Anglemark, the European Administrator, at EUTAFF (at) gmail (dot) com.

By John Purcell: Here are a couple updates on Johan Anglemark’s 2018 TAFF trip thus far.

First up, here is the blog address for Johan Anglemark’s 2018 trip: www.taff2018.com The title is Westward, Hi! TAFF 2018. The blog allows fans who are not on Facebook to follow his exploits. Currently he is on the way to Seattle; his plane should be landing there in approximately another two hours.

Here’s a sample:

I and John [Purcell] left Austin yesterday after a wee stroll through town, during which I bought physical artifacts with music for the first time in I don’t know how many years, but if there is a good record store, I say let’s support it. And Waterloo Records in Austin is that store.

We then took the 71 out of town and stopped by the Berdoll Pecan Candy store, so that we could take photos of ourselves standing by the gigantic squirrel statue they have there.

Secondly, here is what I wrote on TAFF’s Facebook page regarding the results of the ArmadilloCon 40 (Austin, TX, this past weekend) TAFF Auction and my “Busking for TAFF” musical adventure. It was supposed to be a combination concert/panel presentation, but ended up being very different from what we had originally planned. I will be writing this up for the next issue of Askew, definitely, which I would like to mail out #26 in the next week or so. But for now, here is this from the TAFF Facebook page:

Johan Anglemark and I far exceeded my expectations on what we would raise for TAFF this weekend. The TAFF portion of the Charity Auction Saturday afternoon was $146, which eclipsed the $100-125 range I expected. Then today I did an hour’s worth of “Busking for TAFF” and, with Johan’s help, we must have done something right because that raised an additional $94.85, plus items were donated for future sale for the fund. This is a total of $240.85 – which is twice as much as I had projected for ArmadilloCon 40, which had an estimated 375 attendance. Dang! Like I said in an earlier posting, the generosity of sf fans and pros this weekend had me feeling verklempt.

Thank you, ArmadilloCon fans, guests, and committee! Without you people, we could not have done this. From Johan and myself, thank you so much for supporting TAFF and helping it grow.

Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund delegate Johan Anglemark will soon leave Sweden on a journey that ultimately will take him to Worldcon 76 in San Jose.

TAFF co-administrator John Purcell announced Anglemark’s itinerary in a special news release:

Hear ye, hear ye! You better run, you better hide! Johan Anglemark is coming! He has set up his travel plans, lining up places to see and people to stay with. All in all, I envy Johan as he is about to embark on a life-changing event.

As it turns out, he can’t wait to attend Worldcon 76 so he is attending two other conventions to prepare himself: Finncon in Turku, Finland (July 14-15), and then ArmadilloCon 40 in Austin, Texas (August 3-5). Eventually he will wend his way out to San Jose, California for Worldcon 76.

By Kent Pollard(CUFF 2011 Delegate to SFContario): Nominations are now open to find a CUFF delegate for 2018. Canadian fans are looking for a fan from Eastern Canada to travel to attend VCON 42 / Canvention 38 in Vancouver this October 5-7 as the CUFF delegate. The delegate is welcome, even encouraged, to stay longer than just the convention and hang out with the local fans. In order to be nominated for the CUFF this year an application must be submitted by July 31, 2018 to cancuff@gmail.com.

In exchange for funds that are likely to cover all of their costs for the trip, the primary responsibilities of the delegate are to:

Attend this year’s Canvention and report back to your fellow fans on the event

Assist in raising funds for the next year’s delegate as they are able

Administer (with the assistance of a fan from the other side of the country) the process to select the next year’s fan delegate.

Promote Canadian genre-related media and fan activities.

In order to be nominated for the CUFF this year an application must be submitted by July 31, 2018 to cancuff@gmail.com. The application must have a minimum of three fan supporters from the east and three in the west (six total). It should contain a letter with a brief fan-related bio and how you hope to make this trip beneficial for you and the fan community.

Voting will be open August 1st and close August 24th. This is a short voting period, but necessary to give the successful candidate enough time to work with VCON programming and to schedule their visit.

Any Canadian fan or pro may individually nominate a fan to be this year’s CUFF delegate by filling out the form.

If you (the nominator) are not likely to be known to the current fund administrator (Kent Pollard) please indicate the name and contact info for a fan who is likely to be well known and can confirm you are an active fan, or links to information that will make your involvement in fandom clear. The same process will hold true for voting.

Voting, when open will be permitted by anyone who has been active in Canadian fandom for two years prior to the Canvention, (for this year, October of 2016) or anyone who has a membership to VCON 42. Voters are requested to make a donation to the fund of at least $5.00

CUFF is donation supported and provides for covering expenses for a Canadian science fiction and/or fantasy enthusiast to attend CanVention on the opposite side of the country. CanVention is the annual convention of the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, which traditionally alternates between Eastern and Western Canada.

VCON 42 will take place at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel October 5th through 8th, based around a theme of how Douglas Adams and the British Invasion affected Canadian Fandom. It features the following Guests of Honour:

The winning applicants were selected by Yang Sumin and Colin Zhang, who won the Worldcon 75 Attending Funding.

Here are excerpts of the winners’ introductions posted today:

Pablo M.A Vazquez, as a superfan, has been known to edit fanzines, run/staff cons, put together elaborate outfits, spew poetry, bleed prose, perform comedy, drink a lot of cocktails, speak eloquently/angrily on the day’s issues, and live for the weird and wild in the world. An adventurer and raconteur at heart, Pablo travels as often as possible
and loves returning with amazing stories to tell. Pablo was recently the chair
of NorthAmeriCon ’17, the 12th North American Science Fiction Convention in San
Juan, Puerto Rico….

Mihaela Marija Perković is a Croatian author, SF fan and con-runner. She began promoting SF as the PR Manager of SFera, the oldest SF society in the Balkans and of SFerakon (http://sferakon.org/), the largest SF convention in Southeast Europe which has turned 40 in 2018, and has continued as the fan funds delegate for GUFF, visiting Australia and New Zealand in 2013, promoting European science fiction Down Under….

Each of the winners will be awarded a 15,000 RMB funding and will visit China later in 2018 or 2019, and meet the sff community in at least two of these four cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, and Shenzhen. In each city, the traveler will make a presentation about their science fiction community. They will report on the trip in social media, and carry out other responsibilities once the trip is over.

[Thanks to Regina Kanyu Wang for the story. My apologies for spelling Perkovic without the accent over the “c”, but WordPress won’t display the character properly, turning it into a question mark.]